Monsanto Co.Monsanto Co., St. Louis, stops selling soybean seeds in Argentina Argentina (ärjəntē`nə, Span. ärhāntē`nä), officially Argentine Republic, republic (2005 est. pop. 39,538,000), 1,072,157 sq mi (2,776,889 sq km), S South America., the world's No. 3 soy producer, because it says a huge black market Black Market A type of economic activity that takes place outside of government-sanctioned channels. Black-market transactions typically occur as a way for participants to avoid government price controls or taxes, conducting transactions 'under the table'. The black market is also the means by which illegal substances or products - such as illicit drugs, firearms or stolen goods - are bought and sold. for the genetically modified seeds makes it impossible to recoup its investments. Until that changes, Monsanto Argentina says, it won't sell new and improved soy seeds or carry out research to develop new varieties tailored to local conditions. Some 50 to 60 percent of all soybean seeds in Argentina are bought on the black market, says Federico Ovejero, a spokesman for Monsanto Argentina. Monsanto Argentina says it will concentrate instead on Roundup Ready corn, which the government has yet to approve, and new varieties of sunflower seeds and sorghum sorghum, tall, coarse annual (Sorghum vulgare) of the family Gramineae (grass family), somewhat similar in appearance to corn (but having the grain in a panicle rather than an ear) and used for much the same purposes. Probably indigenous to Africa, it is one of the longest-cultivated plants of warm regions there and also in Asia—especially in India and China.. Monsanto had about 15 percent market share in the soybean seed business, industry sources say. Now that it has withdrawn, just three major companies remain.
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